“New Song of Old Earth” in the fourth Darkfire anthology Bones of the World: Tales from Time’s End, edited by Bruce Holland Rogers, from SFF Net, 2001, ISBN 0-9669698-4-7.

“New Song of Old Earth” in the fourth Darkfire anthology Bones of the World: Tales from Time’s End, edited by Bruce Holland Rogers, from SFF Net, 2001, ISBN 0-9669698-4-7. Available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or directly from the publisher, SFF Net.

I usually refer to my clients as “the accused.” But, in my own mind, I usually think of them as “the prisoner.” Certainly I thought of Martin Tyo that way, even though he wasn’t, really–he had a cheap room in a hotel near the transit station.

There was no need to put him in a cell. He was already ten years from yesterday. . . .

“Reading is Fundamental” appears in the second Darkfire anthology The Age of Reason: Stories for a New Millennium, edited by Kurt Roth, from SFF Net, 1999, ISBN 0-9669698-1-2.

“Reading is Fundamental” appears in the second Darkfire anthology The Age of Reason: Stories for a New Millennium, edited by Kurt Roth, from SFF Net, 1999, ISBN 0-9669698-1-2. Available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or directly from the publisher, SFF Net.

I’m hiding in the tall weeds behind the compost heap, which is good, because the sergeant looks behind the woodpile before heading to the outhouse. I listen real carefully and am glad to hear the splashing sound of a good piss. That always puts the sergeant in a good mood. If he can start the day with a good piss he’ll usually give me breakfast. Otherwise I sneak away and don’t come back until lunch time. . . .